The Institut Océanographique Paul Ricard hosts the launch of the first Prix Fondation Salins (Salins Foundation Prize) for the protection of whales and other cetaceans in the Mediterranean.

Launched by the Fondation Salins under the auspices of the Fondation de France, the prize is intended for associations, non-profit organisations and professional bodies with the aim of improving the knowledge and the protection of whales and other cetaceans in the Mediterranean.

The Prix Fondation Salins offers between 20.000 & 40.000 € over two years maximum. It will be awarded on 24 May 2014 on the island of Les Embiez in the presence of the members of the Selection Committee, experts and the team of scientists from the Institut océanographique Paul Ricard.

Patricia Ricard, President of the Institut océanographique Paul Ricard : “I welcome this initiative by the Fondation Salins, which has wisely decided to offer its support to the experts working in the field. It is essential that patrons should pool their efforts, since while we may be tempted by solo crossings of the sea, it is urgent to work together if we are to protect it”.

INSTITUT OCÉANOGRAPHIQUE PAUL RICARD

To know the sea and to protect it

Since its foundation by Paul Ricard in 1966, the Institut océanographique, located on the island of Les Embiez, near Toulon in S.E. France, has been constantly engaged in leading key actions with a two-fold focus: the biology of marine organisms and the environment and endangered species and biodiversity.

The Institute’s work has been recognised by the award of the Grand Prix of the French Académie des Sciences (Academy of Sciences). It is based on a sustainable development approach which considers the sea as a common ecological and economic asset to be preserved, managed and restored.

The research is carried out within the framework of French and European programmes, with various partners in universities and in industry (Ricard, EDF, Véolia, Caisse d’Épargne, etc.) and in other institutions (the TPM local authority, the French water management agency Agence de l’Eau, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Council, the Var local authority, the European Fisheries Fund, Ifremer, WWF France, the grouper research group Groupe d’Étude du Mérou, etc.). The Institute belongs to the regional sea-related competitiveness cluster Mer Méditerranée.

The main research themes are focused on the quality if the water and of the marine environment (microbiology, ecotoxicology), marine biotechnologies (micro-algae, sea urchins), biodiversity (quality of populations, endangered or protected species: fan mussel, seahorse, grouper, etc.).

Providing information and outreach for the general public with regard to the major environmental issues is the other mission of the Institut océanographique Paul Ricard.